A Birth
by OrangeDeath
Summary: Hatori is sitting bored out of his mind one day in his father's office. Little does he know his day is about to get a little more exciting. A speculative fic. Spoilers. No pairings.
1. Chapter 1

My second fic, I think that I actually stand a chance of finishing this one, my other one is giving me problems.

Of course none of the character are mine.

This is based off of some speculative thoughts I had the other day, I hope you enjoy it. It should be short, no more than two or three chapters.

More little notes at the bottom...

* * *

Hatori sat, bored, in his father's office. His branch of the family had long been in charge of the medical needs of the Somah family, and despite his own "condition", he was expected to continue in that tradition.

Still, on this particular long weekend, he'd much rather be outside with his cousins, Shigure and Ayame. _Those two can get on my nerves at times, but anything is better than this._

Sighing, he looked up at the time.

9:30a.m.

He let out another sigh and leaned back in his chair. It had only been half an hour.

_But it feels more like at least two._

He balanced the chair on its back legs, resting his feet on the desk in front of him, so that he could get a good look at the ceiling. Part of his brain complained that his father would yell if he found him like that, but he ignored it. Hatori was supposed to be playing receptionist while his father got things ready for the day in the back room. But this early in the morning there was never anything going on, and there hadn't been any outbreaks in the family lately. He'd overheard some of the servants saying that it was because the rat had been born, so now the family was blessed with luck, but he wasn't sure what to think about that.

All he knew was that he was feeling different again, just like before the rat was born. He idly wondered if another zodiac was going to be born. _I wonder which it will be…_

At that moment, the phone rang. The precarious balance he had on the chair ended as he toppled over. Jumping to his feet he stared at the phone still ringing, before it connected in his head to pick it up.

"Mo-" he got cut off.

"Uh…yeah…"

"Uh…were do you…"

"Uh…right…"

"We'll, uh…be right there"

He hung up the phone a little bewildered and excited.

The man on the other side had been frantic.

_Maybe today won't be so boring after all._

He ran to the back room and was about to burst out with his message when his father gave him a look that simply said calm down.

"What did I tell you about running around like those fool friends of yours?" the man questioned, returning to what he was doing.

"Sorry father." Hatori could feel the shame rising in his face.

"Well don't forget it. It's highly uncivilized for a young man your age and with your potential to run around like a maniac."

"Yes sir."

"Now, you had something to say?"

"Yes sir, one of the families on the outside, they're having a baby, but it's too soon."

The older man looked up quickly.

"How soon?"

"I think he said two months, it's another zodiac, isn't it?"

Hatori watched as his father's face grew dark.

"I'll grab my things. You, call Akira-sama"

Hatori nodded and went quickly from the room. Today was definitely going to be and exciting day. The last time he'd had to call the head of the house, it had been for Ayame's little brother a few months before.

_That child had been born the rat. I wonder which it will be this time?_

He counted through the zodiac, the only ones left where the cow, the tiger, the sheep, the rabbit…he shook his head. He was getting distracted.

Hatori picked up the phone and started to dial before he realized he'd forgotten the number.

Muttering some curses, learned from Shigure, under his breath, he started digging through the paper work and filing cabinets, trying to find it. He was so engrossed in this, he didn't notice the front door open and shut. Nor did he notice the man approaching the desk until he spoke.

"Here, you'll be needing this."

At those words Hatori stood quickly and cracked his head against an open drawer on the filing cabinet behind him.

Blinking away stars and tears he gapped at the man before him.

"Akira-sama…"he breathed as his whirling brain connected the man in front of him with a name, even as the man turned to leave.

Hatori just stared at the empty space where the man had stood, frozen in time.

At the moment, his father came out of the back room with his medical supplies.

"Have you made that phone call yet?"

There was no answer.

"Boy, I asked you a question. Have you done as I…" the doctor's voice trailed off as his eyes caught sight of the terror stricken look on his son's face.

"Akira-sama" he heard the boy say.

"Yes" he frowned, "I told you to call him". He reached across the table for the phone. But before he could hit the auto dial, he spotted something on the desk that hadn't been there before. A red and white beaded bracelet.

He dropped the phone back on its cradle, and picked up the charm instead.

In the silence of the office, he said the only thing that mattered.

"It's the cat."

* * *

and aren't you just bored out of your mind now? haha, i'll admit i'm not a great writer, but i had to get this out.

as far as the characters, Akira is Akito's father and the former head of the house. I don't know if Hatori would have reacted in quite that manner to him, but it works for the story. I'm don't think that Hatori's father was the doctor before him, but it also works for the story, so don't complain! Hatori seems a little OOC, but he's young here, so i think it's allowed. Shigure should be making an appearance in the next chapter.

this is just an explination i came up with for myself.

that's it really. and remember kiddies, don't call in sick, call in dead.


	2. Chapter 2

hey, I get married in 19 days. still haven't graduated from college. not a whole lot say really. I think my writing style may have changed, but then i was never much of writer to begin with. this fic in my head is much better, but it likes to change itself around so much, that it will never be written down the way it's supposed to be. more at the bottom. hopefully this chapter makes sense.

thanks to the person that replied about Hatori's father last time, i had a feeling i'd read that somewhere but i couldn't remember where and really thought i was just making it up. Actually, thanks to everyone that's reviewed, i didn't reply back to all of you, but i did read what you had to say, no matter how short it was.

* * *

Chapter 2

Sitting on the porch of a smallish "outside" house watching the snow falling was not a part of the exciting morning that Hatori had envisioned. The father of the soon-to-be-born child did not appreciate a twelve year old helping in the birthing room, and so he had been turned out to wait.

_At least I like watching it snow...but it's not like I've never assisted in a birth before, I've been training as a doctor since I was five. _Hatori would probably never admit it, but he was in a bit of a huff about being kicked out.

It seemed that the baby was still a little ways off from being born, everything was going well, but the mother still wasn't dilated enough and the contractions weren't happening with quite enough frequency. The whole process would probably take the rest of the day, which meant that any excitement was still a long ways off.

Hatori sighed again and looked out at the snow piling up along the small road between the houses. He was curious to see the Cat of the zodiac; the last one had died when he was little and so he only had a vague memory of an old man sitting in one of the older houses in the back of the family compound. The Cat had always been detested by the rest of the family, and he wanted to know why. Even if he did think of a million better things to do today, there wasn't anything that could possibly make him want to leave that spot.

Except for maybe Shigure, who'd grown bored of having the family head's young child hanging on him while he tried to read and was currently looking for someone to take part in his current scheme. What that scheme was hadn't been determined yet, but he wasn't above making things up as he went along.

Since Ayame didn't like this sort of weather, Kureno was too boring, and Ritsu too young to be much fun, that left Hatori as a potential partner in crime. So it happened that at that moment, Shigure was roaming the streets of the family compound like a stray dog looking for a fight, or something interesting to sniff at anyway.

It was a fortuitous turn that brought him right to the very house which Hatori was sitting outside of. Shigure brightened at the sight of his friend and made a bee-line for him.

"Haa-kun! I've been looking everywhere for you! It's been so cold witho-"Hatori clamped one gloved hand over his friend's mouth. His other arm was wrapped around Shigure's neck in a choke hold.

"Shut up", he hissed while giving the house a wary look. His father would not be pleased if they started making a racket outside.

Shigure frowned and gave Hatori a sharp elbow in the stomach. The resulting scuffle ended with the two of them rolling in the snow while trying to shove each other's faces into some of the deeper drifts.

In the end, the doctor had come out and reprimanded both of them for making such a racket. The two boys had been told to go somewhere else until Hatori was needed at which time he, Shigure had been given a hard look here, would be called back alone to help.

"What's up with your old man, Haa-kun? He seems like he has a bigger stick up his ass than normal" Shigure asked from his position curled under the warmth of the kotatsu at his parent's house.

Hatori took a drink of the hot chocolate they'd been given by the maid while stalling for time. He wasn't sure if he should tell Shigure about the whole thing with the cat. Shigure was always snooping around, trying to find out what was going on. _He's probably sensed something was up today too…_

"Hatori? Earth to Hatori?" Hatori blinked at the hand waving just inches from his face, he'd zoned out completely.

"Gee, Mr. Serious is turning into a space cadet" Shigure teased.

Hatori swatted the hand away. "You wanna find out what's going on or not?"

"Tell me please!" Shigure whined, "I know something's up! First I wake up with this weird feeling and then your dad is a bigger prick than normal, something's up! I know it!"

Hatori sighed and related that morning's events to his cousin. When he was done, Shigure looked thoughtful.

"So, the cat of the zodiac…that makes nine out of the thirteen from the story…interesting…" Hatori couldn't help but note that his cousin's face had gone from goofy to totally serious in a matter of seconds. It was one of the things he'd noticed about his friend recently, as they got older, he seemed to scheme even more. He shuddered to think how much more proficient Shigure would probably end up getting at manipulation of others.

Hatori shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. "Anyway, I'd be there to see if it you hadn't dropped by" he said, knowing what Shigure's reaction would be.

Shigure looked predictably hurt "You mean you don't want me around? But then you'll become horrible and boring just like your old man! You don't want that for you! I don't want that for you! But don't worry; I'll save you from that fate!"

Hatori just sighed and picked up one of the oranges from their plate in the middle of the table. A familiar silence stretched out between them. Silences like this had grown more and more common too, just like Shigure's manipulative ways.

"You know the cat is always locked away from everyone else," Shigure commented as he lounged against the low table, "you could almost feel sorry for the kid, for as long as the curse is around, the cat will never be a part of the family. It will always be hated and shunned. Makes our part of the curse look like a cake walk."

The thoughtful look on Shigure's face disturbed Hatori.

"Do you find it comforting to know that no matter how bad it might be for us, someone has it worse?"

Shigure did not respond. He didn't have to. They both knew that it was the truth.

Hatori watched Shigure bounce the orange in his hand a few times before starting to unpeel his own. They sat in the silence wrapped up in their own thoughts and waited for something to happen.

* * *

well, it's only been over a year since my last update...i still remember that morning, it was a friday and i was supposed to be getting ready to meet with a group for my spanish lit class so we could go over our presentation on Argentina. instead, i was busy trying to write down this strange little fic about Hatori and his Father that had just popped into my head without any warning. this past year this story has been rolling around in my head, continually brought back to mind by the various people that have reviewed it. I've been wondering where to take this, i see that i originally thought it would only be 2 or 3 chapters. i still don't know for sure. a part of me wants to expand it and make it a deeper sort of fic about all the zodiacs and their fathers. since a good deal of the father's in this are noticably absent. But I'm fairly certain that i don't have the writing chops to pull that one off. Really though, this fic has been trying to get me to hook it up with this other fic that hasn't actually been written but lives in my head along with a bunch of other fics. The fic that that would create is really complicated beyond everything i have ever tried to write. but only time will tell.

i'm not sure what will happen, and it may take me another year to get out another chapter. but still, at long last, here is the promised shigure at least.

oh, and in case i never do update this, the ages are: Hatori, Shigure, and Ayame are all 12 or thereabouts. Hatori has been learning about medicine (and super cool secret mind wiping techinques) since he was 5. Shigure spends a lot of time with Akito who is 3, and Akito's dad is very very close to the end of his life span. all the zodiac kids act far far older than they actually are. childhood is rough practically nonexistant when one of your parents can't hug you and the other probably doesn't care to.

6/18/07

p.s. don't you hate it when authors don't update? geez, i know, it's such a pain.


	3. Chapter 3

And so, here is chapter 3. and only about 5 months since chapter 2. Married now, with two cats. still in college. ah...whatever. Notes at the bottom, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

* * *

Chapter 3

The birth was going badly.

Hatori shifted nervously on his feet as he looked back and forth between the exhausted mother and his father taking her blood pressure.

Nearly six hours had passed since the contractions had started and there was still no baby. Hatori had been called back to the birthing room as a runner for supplies; Shigure had followed and was actually showing enough sense to sit quietly in a corner. The child's father had been evicted after the fourth hour and was currently stationed outside the house smoking and taking sips of something from a small flask.

The tension in the room was thick and suffocating.

"She's loosing too much blood," the elder Dr. Sohma grimly stated and straightened up to give Hatori a look, "Calling an ambulance would be inadvisable considering the condition of the baby. I'm going to perform an emergency c-section. Bring me my surgery bag and begin the prep. We'll try to use the forceps first, but I doubt that will work. You in the corner, make yourself useful and guard the door, I don't want that man coming back in here."

Hatori saw his friend grow visibly paler and made a move to protest, but before he could, Shigure shot him a look and shook his head quickly. With a "Yes sir" the normally mischievous boy took up a position by the door.

It was there again, that hardened look that they had all been developing since birth, this was what that new child would be born into, a brief childhood followed by an early adulthood and an intimate knowledge of the level of pain the world was capable of inflicting. _I can understand why the kid might be reluctant to come out, it's almost like he knows about the curse and doesn't want to live it._

Hatori shook his head at the depressing thought and made to leave the small house. He really wanted to avoid the man smoking outside; it was clear to him that he'd managed to have enough of whatever was in that flask to make him very drunk.

It didn't help that the man was violent and erratic even when sober, what had appeared to be nervous excitement at the birth of his first child had quickly revealed itself as just one aspect of his violent and controlling nature. When it became blatantly apparent that things were going badly, the man had gone wild, alternately blaming his wife, his unborn child, and Hatori's father for the complications. In the end it had been necessary for servants from the main house to be called to forcibly remove him.

Hatori gulped as he approached the front of the house, the man was still sitting on the porch, cigarette in hand. It didn't look like the snow had stopped falling. _He must be freezing out here_.

It was going to be hard to get around him, though his back was to the entrance, he sitting on the steps leading up to the porch. Hatori was about to turn quietly around and head out the back of the house when he heard a light snore coming from the man.

_He_ _fell asleep!_ Hatori gapped in disbelief. It was freezing outside and yet this man had actually fallen asleep sitting up, and with a lit cigarette in his hand even.

_Well at least something is going to be a little easier anyway._ Slipping by him was easy, if a little nerve wracking, but Hatori made it by without incident.

Once back at the office, Hatori moved quickly. He had to find the surgery bag and it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some more painkillers. The whole time he tried not think about how crazy this was going to be, two preteens assisting in a major surgery. The birth of the cat was turning out to be a whole lot more involved than he'd planned and they hadn't even let the expecting couple in on the family secret yet. _I don't even want to know what that man is going to be like when he finds out…_

Grabbing the last of the supplies he thought they'd need, Hatori rushed out the door again barely taking the time to make sure it was locked behind him. Once back outside, it became apparent that the snow had started falling harder now, it wouldn't be long before they were snowed in completely. _Has it ever been this awful before? What freakish weather today…the city must be completely deadlocked…_

Hatori trudged through the ever increasing snow drifts and as fast as he could with the heavy medical bag. He felt out of breath and numb around the edges and the idea that he had taken far too long kept running through his head. His stomach was tying knots around itself by the time he made it back to the small house.

Rushing into the birthing room blindly, Hatori only just missed dropping the heavy bag right on the laboring woman.

"I see you decided to rejoin us" was the only greeting he received. Heart catching in his throat, Hatori set the bag down on a nearby table. He thought he'd be used to disappointing his father by now, what with his "condition", and yet it still hurt each and every time his father was less than impressed by him. _If I could just learn enough medicine to save mother then maybe…_

He never had a chance to finish the thought as his father began issuing orders and he and Shigure flew into action.

It wasn't until one hour later that the real drama started.

* * *

You realize what that ending means right? you realize this means that i'm going to have to write a chapter 4, right? gah...i must hate myself...I did try to at least get to the much alluded to birth, and i swear that the next chapter will start with that particular event.

in other news, i tried to get my little sister to beta read this chap since i remain fairly unconfident with my writing skills. she has yet to reply back and i grow tired of having this sitting around. so you get this.

improvements? suggestions? hate mail? it's all good.

also, i have a massive headache.


End file.
